Killing Me Softly, Angelic Yet Deadly
by MistyxRose
Summary: She cried tears of glass as he set up an outrageous contest. “Whoever kills me will win my fortune and title as Number One Martial Artist in all of Asia…” He only ended up taking all of his contestants' lives. Until…She came along to nearly end her life.
1. Bloodstained Contest

**Author's Note: Well, it's very different from the writing if you compare it to my other stories. This particular story is quite…well; I don't know how to say it. Ignore all grammatical mistakes and whatnot throughout the story because I'm quite blind about these things. **

**If you want me to delete this story, then I will if enough of you readers want me to.**

**Dislaimer: I do not own CCS, but I do own the plot

* * *

**

**Killing Me Softly, Angelic Yet Deadly**  
By: AngelicKitty28

**Chapter One **

**BLooDSTaiNeD CoNTeSTS  
**

The killer spat on the ground, his eyes not leaving the dead body before him. Fresh blood seeped through the tore flesh on the body's chest. His mouth was agape and his eyes rolled to the back of his head.

'Hino.' he thought as he stared at the blood on his sword. He held it up in the moonlight that leaked through the window and stared at his reflection in the ringing metal. Amber orbs of his own stared back with a cold, distant look in them. A drop of Hino's blood slid down and onto his reflection. He growled and whipped the sword in the air harshly, causing the blood to splatter onto the floor and wall. With a growl, he turned and walked outside.

He ran his hand through his messy, chestnut locks and then looked up in the sky. The scene amazed him. The sky was a smoky blue mixed with the crescent moon which was accompanied by the twinkling stars around.

_"Whoa, Xiao Lang, are you sure you're going to do this?" asked the reporter with interest yet nervousness. _

_"Yes, I am," his cold eyes scanned through the shocked crowd as they talked amongst themselves, "You heard me. The contest rules are simple: Kill me, and you win my fortune and my title as the number one martial artist in all of Asia. If you fail, your life is the cost. You cannot back down once you've tried to attack me. You cannot attack me in public areas where you might harm innocent people; I do not want to take responsibility on their injuries or deaths. You do not fight me inside my house, but you may attack me from outside. As in, you may use a sniper rifle to shoot my brains out. You are allowed to use whatever weapon you wish. From swords to bombs, I'm trained to be immune to all." More murmurs and gasps. "You are fighting me, and only me. I do not have any reinforcements or allies in this whatsoever," His eyes glinted. "A hint from me," he paused, "It will NOT be easy."_

_Out of his eye reach, his mother shook her head disappointedly. She knew she couldn't stop him; it was his choice of leader of the clan. 'Immature.' she thought with a frown, one that matched her son's, 'Surely, his weakness is clear. Oh Xiao Lang, my son, how many lives are you going to take?' She clicked her tongue, and then walked away with her robes billowing in the air and her hair swaying with each step. _

Footsteps broke his trance and caused him to turn around. His servants were taking Hino's body away.

He scowled at them before taking a small stroll around. Since then, a lot of people, mostly men, have tried to assassinate him. Logically, they tried to aim for him when he was asleep, but he was already one step ahead of them. His keen senses kept him alert 24/7. Bombs and land mines didn't work either because he'd already killed whoever planted the bomb before they could plant it. Even if they were able to plant it, he'd already diffuse it.

He inhaled the fresh air (without the hint of Hino's blood) then turned back and headed to his room.

**---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

No one had come to compete during the night, which slightly eased his grouchy mood the next morning. It was five in the morning when he got up, and Hino had arrived twelve in the morning. The battle didn't take long. Usually, he'd see what they were capable of before he'd give them the result of the entering the contest.

Putting on comfortable pants, he walked to the balcony and jumped over the railing. It was a perfect landing on the large patio. He walked towards the empty area of nothing but grass, and started his training.

After a long while, the sun began to peek out. It was a signal for him to stop his morning training. Panting and sweating, he sheaved his sword then headed to the showers.

"Pleasant night?" A gentle, elderly voice asked as he stepped out of the shower.

"Eh, could say." He grunted as he dried off his hair with the towel.

"You know, maybe you could just--"

"No, I'm not stopping the contest, Wei." He snapped quickly, but the old man wasn't fazed by his rudeness.

"Ah, I wasn't going to refer anything about your contest." Wei gave him a small smile, "All I wanted to say was maybe you could just go on a walk. It seems you've been distracted lately, a walk might clear your mind." He knew he wasn't going to receive an answer from the young leader, so he finished cleaning his room then left him alone.

Xiao Lang sighed as he plopped himself onto his bed that was fresh with new sheets. He turned his head toward the balcony and looked at the weather.

"Screw it, I'll go."

**---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

The weather was nice, the birds were singing, the air was crisp. This didn't change his mood though. Mindlessly, he walked along the roads of Hong Kong. He ignored the flirts he was receiving, the stares, gossips and murmurs, and the questions buzzing about. They knew not to irk him so much.

"Maybe this walk wasn't a good idea after all," he murmured to himself, placing his hands in his pockets, "Damn old man. Why did I have to listen to him anyway?" He looked around and found a path to a public park. At the end of the park, was a forest and beyond the forest was a beach.

"Could be better there." He shrugged then changed his course.

Mindlessly. He continued his stroll mindlessly.

The beach was full of people, young and old, relaxing and having fun. He continued to walk through a small area of the forest until he reached a secluded area. Other than his family, he didn't know anyone else that knew the area. It was a cliff, no more than ten feet high, and below was the ocean and part of the beach that was covered in round, smooth rocks. Xiao Lang jumped down and sat on a large rock and started to throw stones into the ocean. After he got bored of that, he walked up to where the tide reached the beach.

He stared at the water that stretched as far as he was able to see, his hands still tucked in his pockets. The wind blew his hair around, splashed bits of water onto his shades, and caused the water to foam near his feet. He stayed at that position for a while until he heard another voice near him. No one was there when he looked around. He growled to himself.

'I made the rules clear,' he thought angrily, 'No one is allowed to attack me while I'm out!'

He kept his senses alert as his eyes wandered the place for any sudden movements. Humming suddenly caught his sense of hearing.

"Oh, hello there." came a pleasant voice from the top of the cliff. He quickly looked up and found a girl looking down at him.

"I didn't think anyone else came here except for me," she flashed him a small smile. No reply from him whatsoever, but he kept his eyes on her, even through his shades. She tilted her head to the side, "Hey, you're quiet." She stepped onto the edge of the cliff and sat with her legs dangling.

"How did you get down there? The path to get down there is filled with annoying bugs and they'll follow you and keep biting you. You've must've been lucky." She swayed her legs like a little child and looked at the water.

Xiao Lang's eyes slightly softened at the sight. She seemed a bit younger than him, auburn hair that was flying in the wind like his, and fairly good looking from his view.

'Hmm, he's still quiet.' She frowned inwardly and began to get up, "Okay mister, I'll leave you and your quiet self now so I won't bother you ahh--" Her foot slipped on the edge and began to fall. She tried grasping for something, but grasped nothing but air. She waited for the impact with the rocks, but it didn't happen.

"Huh?" She squeaked as she opened her eyes and blinked a few times. She looked up to find herself in the arms of the boy she was one-sidedly talking to. His shades had fallen off and onto her stomach which revealed his eyes...

After a few moments of silence...

"WHAAA LI XIAO LANG!" She exclaimed and scrambled out of his arms. "I'm really sorry!" She bowed low to him, hiding her blush of embarrassment.

He coughed and bent to pick up his shades. "It's fine."

"No, no, I didn't mean to talk to you like that!" She said quickly not getting up from her bow.

"I said it's fine." He crossed his arms and looked at her as she straightened herself. "I thought you would've known who I was the moment you saw me." He murmured grumpily, but she caught it.

"I'm from Japan," she sniffed, "Don't blame me."

"Whatever. Now leave 'my quiet self and I' alone." He grunted as he placed his shades on again.

"Fine. Goodbye." She said with an 'hmph' then stormed away.

He rolled his eyes as he watched her go through the path with the flying bugs and let out a loud scream.

**---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

Xiao Lang rolled his eyes again, thinking of how could such a girl not know who he was as he made his way down for lunch.

"Would you like the usual?" Wei asked as he watched the young head of the clan. Xiao Lang nodded and went to grab a glass. "Mei Ling was going to stay for lunch, but she seemed angry." He continued drinking his glass of water as if he never heard him.

Suddenly, his cold, amber eyes slightly widened at a presence.

"Sorry Wei, there's a contestant waiting outside." he said with a growl. He set the glass down then dashed out the door and into the yard.

"Don't think I can't see you." He said, with a hint of monotone. His eyes targeted on a tree. He gripped his sword tighter as its metal rang throughout the yard. A gunshot suddenly broke the ringing metal and aimed for the wolf's forehead. He growled before he shielded himself with his sword. The bullet fell to the ground soundlessly.

"Guns eh?" There was a tint of amusement in his voice. His eyes never left his target, and he was sure that the competitor was in the tree branch. He caught a glimpse of silver before doing a quick back flip, dodging yet another bullet. "Oh c'mon, hurry and show yourself already." A shadow swiftly jumped down and landed behind the tree.

He didn't like this. It annoyed him that he, or she, wouldn't show their face, or even say anything to him. Most of his competitors with guns would already start cussing at him by now, with a bullet aiming for him between each phrase. He launched his sword into the tree, and it stabbed right through it. There was a groan of pain on the other side.

'Another man,' he thought. Xiao Lang quickly ran toward the tree. After he did so, he ran straight up the tree and hid in the thick branch leaves as his contestant did. He bent over in a crouching position to get a better look of this man. Another bullet aimed for his brain, but he quickly sliced it and again, it fell soundlessly to the ground. Blood was clearly seen from where Xiao Lang was looking at. "Injured I see. Well there's no turning back now, I'm afraid." A small smirk replaced the thin line of his mouth. He leaped off the branch and headed straight down the trunk, with his sword aiming first to the ground.

The contestant was clearly seen rolling away from Xiao Lang's attack.

"So, the silent type eh?" Xiao Lang went back to stance and stared eye-to-eye with the man. He had really dark brown messy hair and matching eyes that narrowed coldly at him. He was taller and looked older than he did. His blood that glistened in the light was seeping through the shoulder of his black t-shirt, and ran freely down his muscular arm.

"Gaki." He spat. He forced his injured arm to produce an identical gun.

"I believe my name is Xiao Lang." His eyes narrowed identically to his contestant. "I tend to know who the person I kill is. Name?"

He aimed both guns at him. "Touya." Touya pulled the trigger thrice, sending six bullets his way. Xiao Lang managed to dodge them all, except one that grazed his cheek.

"Damn you, baka." It was Xiao Lang's turn to spit. "You're from Japan, aren't you, bastard?" He launched himself sword first towards Touya. Touya did a quick back-flip, shooting more bullets at him.

"What if I am?" He growled, "I don't even think we're supposed to be conversing in this fight!" He shot more bullets, but Xiao Lang just managed to dodge them all.

"I made the rules. I didn't say anything about conversing or not!" Xiao Lang roared producing a dagger out of nowhere and throwing it at him. Touya saw the glint of the dagger and used his guns to shield his face. It hit one of his guns and obviously, it broke. He quickly dove behind another tree.

"Hiding again, are we?" a small smirk played on his lips as he waited in a stance for his next move.

This was getting difficult for him. The pain in his shoulder was getting worse no matter how long he tried to ignore it. He was even beginning to lose consciousness due to the loss of blood. He checked the ammunition in his other gun.

'Crap, four bullets left.'

Touya pulled the dagger out of his busted gun and turned his body around to throw it at him.

"Now that, I didn't expect from you." Xiao Lang snarled as he dodged it, "It seems like you're becoming slow, _Touya_."

Touya, still sitting, turned his body to aim the last few bullets at him.

"Yep, too slow." His small smirk returned to his face as he sliced one of the four bullets. Xiao Lang decided to end it all quickly and painlessly. All that needed was for him to deliver one swift blow with his sword. He leaned forward then kicked himself off towards him with his foot, but quickly stopped as a bullet sped past the side of his face. He slid on the ground before his brain was able to process everything, causing him to end up in another crouch. His loose bangs hung over his bent head and shielded his eyes. Slowly, he tilted his head upwards toward him and almost instantly, smirked.

"No more ammo?"

Touya growled. He panted with his back against the trunk. The blood was starting to stain the grass deeply. He turned (to what seemed to him as his last time) to shoot his last bullet, and hoped that it would end everything. However…

Xiao Lang wasn't there.

'Where is he…?' he thought, eyes wide yet scanning frantically around the area.

"Looking for someone?" drawled a voice from above him. Touya gasped and quickly looked up.

He couldn't shoot once more. It came as a flash in his eyes. Before he knew it, his gun had betrayed him in the hands of the gaki.

"Thanks for competing in my contest of mine," He smirked as the words came out tauntingly. "You've lost."

**---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

"No, Touya!" yelled a voice so familiar to Xiao Lang. It caused his eyes to widen. From the corner of his eyes, he saw the same girl he encountered during his daytime events. For that second, he dropped his guard, and it was clearly seen by the way he lowered the gun by a slight fraction. Seeing Touya about to use this moment as an advantage, Xiao Lang's eyebrows furrowed and lifted the gun once more. His finger was set to pull the trigger.

It would've been over.

If it weren't for that same girl that got in the way.

With enough strength, she was able to dive and pull Touya a few meters away from the bullet, causing them both to slide painfully.

"Onii-chan, I told you not to compete in this stupid contest!" she cried out as she sat up and looked at the blood that stained his t-shirt red. She gingerly tried to lift the sleeve up, but he just cried out in pain. Her eyes glistened, "Onii-chan…"

In the sidelines was Xiao Lang watching everything. One side of his mind was yelling, 'How dare she interfere! She deserves to die along with him!' and yet another part wanted to find out more about this strange girl that he had already encountered on this same day. But he found himself walking towards the two, the gun pointing at them.

"You know, I can only kill one of you. Actually, I _have _to kill one of you. There's only one bullet left." He sneered with monotone. He used his free hand to point his thumb over his shoulder where a glint of metal shone in the sunlight, "And I'm not going all the way there to get my sword." Sakura looked up at him with stained, emerald eyes and a slightly tanned face. To her, his tone sounded forced. She shook her head fiercely before standing up in front of him with her arms stretched out on either side of her small body.

"Let him go, please!" She exclaimed, but she was pleading. He glared at her.

"You know the rules, and so does he." He said coldly with the gun ticking back and forth between the girl and the contestant. "He dies or I die, but I highly doubt he can kill me now in his critical state." He scoffed then let out coldly. "And I'm not making _any _exception for him."

Her expression was angry, but she bit her bottom lip to choke the sobs back. Her tears, however, poured freely from her emerald orbs. She didn't budge from her position.

"Ying Fa, stop crying!" Touya hissed painfully, "Don't make your condition any worse!"

"I don't care!" Ying Fa lowered her head and shook it fiercely once more, "I don't care if I have to die, either! I'm going to die anyway!" Xiao Lang thought she thought that she was the one who was going to be killed with the last bullet, but a small thought told him he thought wrong.

Xiao Lang continued to watch. 'What is it about her…?' His thoughts were broken when a small, sharp object hit him in the eye.

"What the?" he rubbed his eye hastily and pulled something out. He opened his palm to find a moist, piece of clear glass. "Glass?" He said aloud, shocked. He looked back to the girl and realized that her tears were shimmering in the sunlight along with bits of clear solids that blended in with her tears. She ignored Touya's cries of her to stop crying.

"What is this?" he roared, his knuckles turning white as he pointed the gun at her with a strong grip. He didn't receive an answer from either one of them. He took slow, steady steps towards her, the gun not budging from its position until it rested coldly on her forehead.

"Leave him be, please," she pleaded softly through her tears, "I'll do anything…"

He gave one rare look to the girl before pulling the trigger and watched in slow-motion as the bullet made contact to the body.

"ONII-CHAN!"

Then her world went blank.

**---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

* * *

**Author's Note: Tell me what you think of it, please. By the way, as I'm writing all these other stories, I'm still editing/rewriting You Are My Song for those who are waiting for me to update/fix it. I just happen to multi-task by writing a new story in one window, and editing You Are My Song in another. So please be patient and tell me what you think of this story in a review. Flames will be ignored and also be thought of a waste of time. Constructive criticism accepted.**


	2. Alive

**Author's Note: Well, first off, I'm sorry to say that this isn't You Are My Song. In fact, I've been having minor problems with that story now, lol. As you might've noticed already, most of my notes are at the end. Ugh, I had so much trouble with the four Li sisters, so can someone clarify them? Thanks. Searching doesn't help, believe me. So, enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own CCS, but I do own the plot.**

**Dedicated to: Mika! For helping me with some parts in the story and for choosing this fanfic for an update. Just for her, lol. Go Mika Go! **

**_Now on with the story...

* * *

_**

**Killing Me Softly, Angelic Yet Deadly**

Chapter Two:_ Alive

* * *

_

_She knew it was a dream, but she didn't want to wake up. _

_At first she thought she was drowning in her salty tears, but it was really water that was surrounding her. _

_Even if she started crying over how selfish she felt about not waking up for her onii-chan, no one would be able to tell her tears apart from the water. After looking around her blue surroundings, she realized she was able to breathe in as she could with oxygen, and began to swim freely forward. _

_'Why is it so empty here...?' she thought as she realized that she couldn't even see sand or any marine animals. Suddenly, things got very cold._

_'W-what t-the?' she shivered as the blue water around her started to become white. Frantic, she darted herself toward the surface, but it seemed that there was no surface. At last, there was light shimmering above her. She wanted to feel the warmth from the light, but the coldness started holding her fast to her position. Her feet were frozen to the spot. She tried to set herself free but it was no good. All she was able to do was to brush her fingers against the warm light._

_Her body was finally wrapped around in a layer of white. _

_She lost her breath and ability to move. _

_Realizing before her mind was consumed by this dream, she wasn't trapped in ice. It was a clear substance that was in between of glass and crystal._

_She was right the first time._

_She was drowning in her tears._

_

* * *

_She woke up panting and drenched in her sweat and tears.

"Stupid girl," uttered a voice from the doorway. She quickly turned to find Xiao Lang's cold gaze on her with folded arms. She snapped out of his gaze after regaining her breath then looked around her. It wasn't blue anymore, but a pale pink. The room was well maintained and cozy and she was sitting in a queen sized bed. It then hit her that she wasn't at home or at her hotel.

"Where am I?" she demanded, snapping her eyes back to Xiao Lang. He slightly shifted so he was leaning against the doorway.

"Are you that stupid to not remember anything?" he asked coldly. She scowled at his reply.

She continued looking around until her eyes suddenly widened, "If I'm here..." she started murmuring to herself, "then..." She brought her hands up to her face and began to sob, "ONII-CHAN!"

Xiao Lang did nothing but watch her sob. He blinked at her once she set her angry, teary eyes at him.

"YOU KILLED HIM! YOU KILLED MY BROTHER!" she screamed her lungs out as she sobbed into her hands once more. She took a quivering, deep breath and got up.

"You killed my onii-chan, you heartless bastard," she said through gritted teeth, "How could you even have a contest like this!" He sent her the coldest glare which caused her to stumble backward.

"I think you should shut up before you jump to any insane conclusions." He hissed coldly.

"Insane conclusions? What are you saying?" She yelled, throwing her hands up in the air, "You used his gun to kill him! How is that an insane conclusion?"

"Perhaps I didn't kill him." he growled quietly, causing her eyes to widen again.

"What are you trying to tell me?" she whispered as she sunk back onto the bed.

"Come with me." he said curtly, turning around. Feeling her presence on the bed, he turned back surely finding her still sitting on the bed, "Well, you coming or not? Your choice you foolish girl." She glared before getting up and following him.

She took this as an advantage to look around. There were servants and maids bowed and walked about with rather things to put away or just checking if everything was in order. Also, the place was huge. If she was alone wandering around, she'd get lost just looking for the bathroom, or a bathroom. A large chandelier hung in the middle of the ceiling that was able to be seen in each hallway. All the carpets were a bright red and plush and warm under her bare feet.

"What are you guys doing?" Xiao Lang asked slowly, yet coldly.

'Every time he talks, it's so cold.' she thought as her eyes softened at him, even though she was looking at the back of his head, 'but I wonder why though...'

Ying Fa then noticed that they had stopped in front of a door that looked like any other door, but it had carved calligraphy in it that said "Infirmary". She gasped.

"Sorry Xiao Lang, but that guy is quite a hunk!"

There were four ladies in total, all looking to be in the early twenties, yet seem to act in their teens. They all had a paler complexion and copper brown hair, compared to chocolate-coloured hair Xiao Lang had. They were all beautiful with their shining hair, gorgeous looks, and feminine curves, it made Ying Fa feel ashamed about herself.

"Who is he anyway Xiao Lang?" asked one of them, tilting her head to one side. She had short hair with a long, thin ponytail nearly ending to the floor. She was wearing a black Chinese dress that had gold designs around the sides. Her earrings hung below her ears and her thin gold chain with a diamond pendant rested below her collarbones. She was shorter than him; in fact, they were all shorter than him. Xiao Lang was 6' 3", whereas the four of them were at least five inches shorter.

"He's no one that will be on your 'list of lovers', that's for sure," he grunted, folding his arms over his chest. The lady blushed.

"How did you know that?" she demanded, yet her face burned with crimson.

"It's obvious anyway, Fuutie," said another. She seemed the eldest of them all, and she was the tallest. She had shoulder-length hair and a pale blue dress with navy blue deigns around the shoulders. Her ears were decorated with tiny studs that went from around the inside of her ear. "We all found that list years ago." Her blush deepened.

"Xiao Lang, did he enter your contest?" asked another slowly, pulling her ear away from the door. She had nearly waist-length hair and a violet dress with magenta designs along the end of the dress and the end of her sleeves. She simply had a gold necklace with a gold heart pendant.

"Yeah, I've never seen him around here before," agreed the last of the four. She looked similar to the one who talked before her with the same length of hair, except it was more layered. Her dress was a light orange with yellow designs around the area of her neck and around the waist. Instead of a gold chain, she had dangling, thin gold earrings and a silver necklace that had a sparkling snowflake pendant.

This surprised Ying Fa, and it caused her mouth to stay shut. It was a wonder to her who these ladies were, and what they were doing inside his house. All of them were beautiful, poised, and yet were still as hyper as teenagers. It surprised her even more what Xiao Lang replied.

"No." was his simple reply.

"Oh," the four of them said nothing more, until one looked eye to eye with Ying Fa then squealed out, "Who's the cute girl?"

"I don't know." Xiao Lang shrugged, "she was foolish enough to be with him. She had fewer injuries than him anyway." Before one of the sisters could interrogate further, they felt someone approaching them.

"Shiefa, Feimei, Fuutie, Fanren," came a smooth and flowing voice from behind them. "What are you doing over here?" Ying Fa turned around to come face to face with a tall, elegant, and beautiful woman that had such a mystical aura emitting from her. She couldn't do anything gawk at her. Her long, ebony hair hung from a high ponytail and wore traditional Chinese clothing with her hands tucked inside her billowing sleeves.

"Sorry Mother, we'll go." and with that, the four of them walked away, giggling amongst themselves.

"Xiao Lang," her dark and narrow eyes looked at him, her head slightly tilted up. She was taller than the other girls.

"Mother," he bowed his head slightly at her. She turned to leave when her dark eyes set upon her emerald ones.

"Take great care of her, Xiao Lang," she said, her eyes softening at her, "And her family." She turned around with her hair and sleeves lightly brushing the ground. Xiao Lang just stared at where she was, and Ying Fa watched this.

"Umm..." she began weakly, poking his shoulder gently, "My brother is there, isn't he?" He turned to look down at her.

"Go see for yourself." He opened the door and walked in, with her following behind once more.

Her eyes widened and she let out a gasp, "ONII-CHAN!"

She pushed by Xiao Lang and ran to her brother's side. He was wrapped in bandages and his arm was wrapped with a cast. Touya groaned softly and fluttered his eyes open.

"Y-Ying Fa?" he mumbled quietly.

"Yeah, it's me." she patted his hand gently.

The weight increased by his bed side when she started crying.

"No, Ying Fa -- ple--stop it. I'm fine, you see?" he said quickly yet softly. She looked up at him and hiccupped then rubbed her eyes.

"But you nearly lost your life because of me! Because of this, what I'm doing now!" she exclaimed then started sobbing into her hands that cupped around her face. Touya weakly placed his hand on her head, causing her to look at him, still sniffing though.

"Ying Fa, seriously, I'm fine if you minus all of these bandages and aches all over," he gave a reassuring smile. She did nothing but gave a small nod, and continue to sniff. Her brother's smile disappeared almost instantly when he shifted his eye-contact. She had forgotten that this reunion wasn't private.

"What did you do to her?" he demanded through gritted teeth. She turned around finding Xiao Lang leaning against the wall, watching them quietly.

"Simple, I didn't do anything to her," he quirked an eyebrow as he placed his hands behind his head and closed his eyes. "She fainted when she thought I killed you." Ying Fa gasped inaudibly. She knew it wasn't true because her stomach ached unusually, as if she was punched. Putting two and two together, she knew that Xiao Lang had knocked her out.

"Liar," Touya scowled which made her think that he put the pieces together as well.

"Say what you please." he said warily before making his way out the door. The siblings' attention was still focused on the door before Xiao Lang shut it behind him. She looked back to Touya.

"How long was I out for?" she asked quietly and slowly.

"Not long," he replied, "I regained consciousness before you did. You were out for two days."

"Not long? Two days?" She exclaimed, not believing what she heard. "Is that possible?"

"Yep, for a kaijuu like you."

She growled playfully, "Don't make me knock you out!" They laughed, but then it died down.

"But I wonder why he didn't kill us," she whispered to herself but Touya caught it.

"I don't know either," he sighed, "I mean, the rules were that I'm supposed to die. You too, you interfered which meant that you were next right after me." Her eyes showed sadness at the thought.

The uncomfortable silence after that was broken by Ying Fa.

"I'll go ask him, and I'm hungry." After saying so, her stomach growled loudly causing her to blush. He chuckled.

"Go then, and don't get me anything to eat. I'll be fine, and yes, I'm sure."

With a bid goodbye, she left the room.

"Now where could the kitchen be..." she thought quietly to herself as she walked throughout the maze that was his home, "How can he even know where's what?"

"Lost?" came a voice behind her that caused her to jump and yelp. She turned around to find that woman, Xiao Lang's mother, standing a meter away from her and staring down at her. Ying Fa just nodded in response.

"Come along then, I was on my way to get something to eat myself." She turned around and continued strolling down the hall. Ying Fa quickly kept pace, but remained a distance back. Yelan kept walking forward, but her black, narrow eyes were watching her every step. When finally they reached the kitchen, Ying Fa waited patiently behind her as Yelan asked the chefs for her choice of something to eat.

"Let's wait in the dining room, Ying Fa," Yelan said suddenly, causing her to look up from the ground. Ying Fa yelped at the suddenness, "Your name is Ying Fa, is it not?" In reply, she just blinked and nodded slowly. Yelan gave her a small nod then continued to walk on to the dining room which wasn't far from the kitchen, and still, Ying Fa remained a distance behind her. One of the butlers pulled out their seats, one at the end of the table and one just beside it. Yelan nodded her head and Ying Fa said thanks, and then they were alone.

"Umm…I didn't ask for anything from the kitchen…" Ying Fa said timidly, looking down at the empty plate that was set in front of every seat of the long table.

"Don't worry, I ordered for you," she reassured, looking at her intently as if trying to store her appearance in her mind. Ying Fa let out a tiny "oh" and then silence filled the room. "You needn't worry about the food; I can guarantee it won't taste horrible. It's good to trying something new, ne?"

Ying Fa merely looked up with a small smile, and nodded. She knew that Yelan was trying to start a conversation, but she was intimidated by this powerful woman that was sitting right beside her.

"You're thinking about Xiao Lang, no?"

She looked at Yelan wide-eyed, and this time, she was staring ahead of her, yet her eyes weren't focused on anything.

"Yeah," She said quietly, as if ashamed, "I mean, not in that way." She added quickly which Yelan quirked an arched eyebrow at, "but, my onii-chan said that I was supposed to die…along with him…" her eyes began to moisten, but she didn't dare to show such weakness in front of someone as the mother of the infamous Xiao Lang.

"I'm sorry…" Yelan said gently. Her eyes softened at her. In Yelan's eyes, Ying Fa seemed so fragile and innocent. Her bright emerald eyes shone brightly, but they told her a lot.

"What for…?" She couldn't believe that she was apologizing, let alone that she didn't do anything wrong.

"I apologize for my son's actions," she murmured, "If I'd do anything, I'd stop this contest, but I'm not the head of this clan anymore. I don't have as much authority to have a say in his actions as before."

Ying Fa blinked and didn't know what to think, or say, about this.

"Ying Fa, I think he sees something different in you." Her black eyes looked at her deeply, "That's why he made exceptions for you, and your brother."

She dumbly nodded again, absorbing the information.

"Please, I know my son seems so cold on the outside, but look past that."

"I am…" she whispered to herself. This time, Yelan's eyes widened at her response.

"I think that's enough said, the food might be cold now," Yelan looked at the closed doors, "You may enter now."

The door opened and two butlers came in with their food, looking sheepish. They bowed their heads and left the room, leaving the two ladies to eat.

* * *

She had to admit, the food wasn't horrible at all. Not that she was able to mind what she was eating, due to the fact that she was still trying to process everything that Yelan said through her head. His sisters, whom she figured out, gave her a full tour of the house. Even though she still didn't know where everything was, she memorized where the kitchen was, the bathrooms, her bedroom, and the infirmary. Yelan assured her that herself and everyone in the house would assist her if they just knocked on their door, but Ying Fa shook her head at the thought and didn't bother to memorize where everyone's bedroom was.

In thought, she kept her eyes on the plush red carpet before her and walked forward and up the stairs.

"I still don't get it…" she murmured to herself, taking slow steps up the long staircase, "If Xiao Lang really isn't…then…why is he--" Her eyes widened feeling herself slip on a step that had the carpet uneven. Her hands reflexively reached forward, trying to grab something, anything, to keep her from falling so many steps. All she was able to grab was air. It seemed to her that her voice had lost itself to the shock.

She waited for her fall and her rough ride down the steps, but it didn't happen.

Instead, a firm grip rested on her wrist, and yet she still felt herself tilted backward. With one step back, she would fall.

She looked at her wrist to find a hand, larger, rougher and tanner than hers, tightly wrapped around her skinny wrist. She was upright again with an effortless tug.

"Gee, thanks." She murmured, rubbing her wrist. He scoffed then made his way downstairs again.

"What a guy…" she rolled her eyes then made her way upstairs and to her room.

However, she didn't see one of the butlers scurrying up the stairs, white in fear, just to straighten out the carpet on that very step she tripped on. Xiao Lang watched the servant stumble back downstairs with a satisfied look.

The moonlight peeked through the crack in the curtains as the night breeze blew them to and fro from the window. The room was quiet and so was the house, or so it seemed. The moonlight cast tall shadows along the walls of the cozy room. Yet, one silhouette stirred in the night and sat up.

"Dammit, I can't sleep…" Ying Fa murmured to herself as she got out of bed. She decided to take get some fresh air. She fixed the sleeves on the pajamas that they had lent her, and then stepped outside into the crisp night.

The breeze blew against the pale blue pajamas, causing it to lift up and letting some wind climb up her arms. She shuddered, feeling goose bumps appearing on her arms.

"Why didn't I go back to the hotel?" she groaned to no one in particular. She remembered what her brother had told her earlier, _"Gee, I'd love to get out of her and rest in the hotel to get our clothes, but as you can see, I can't. You're such a kaijuu that you didn't even know where our hotel is! Not even its name!" _She managed to resist pounding his fist, _"Heck no, I'm not telling you the name of the hotel! Who knows what that stupid gaki will do to you once you leave!" _With that, she left him alone.

"Baka onii-chan," she muttered under her breath and then looked up at the twinkling stars. She sighed and was mesmerized by the sky, until she heard distant voices. "Huh?" She looked around the yard, trying to see if anyone else was there. There was a rustle in the bushes, and then two figures appeared.

"What the?" she squinted her eyes, trying to figure out who they were. Her eyes widened, seeing two weapons separating the two. "Xiao Lang!" She gasped, covering her mouth with her hand in shock. So this is how it is during the competition. She doubted that anyone had ever witnessed Xiao Lang fighting any competitor because, well, he would have killed them already. Part of her told her to get back in so that they wouldn't see her, but the other part of her told her stay. Why? That part of her didn't know why.

And so, she stayed where she was, trying to make out what was happening between the two of them.

Only to have someone else having a tight grip around her petite figure, and cover her mouth with a cold hand.

Her eyes widened and then tried to shake the person off, but the person was just too strong for her. She tried biting the person's hand, but the grip was hard and firm that it hurt whenever she tried to scream.

"I think you'll be quite useful, my dear."

The person behind her was definitely a man, and his deep, low voice just made her feel cold.

"Now be a good girl and don't struggle, you hear me?"

His voice was too calm and she could feel his breath hot on her neck.

"I said, you hear me?" he hissed loud enough for her to her and shook her violently. She whimpered in his grip and nodded vigorously.

"Good, good," his voice went into that calm tone again, but then change it into a cold, threatening tone, "Because if you said no, I would've killed you right now.

* * *

"You're retarded, you know that tough guy?" The contestant hissed as only their swords separated them.

"You're one to talk," Xiao Lang said back, breaking the space between them by quickly delivering a quick punch to his face then jumping back. With the aid of the moonlight, he was able to see that the contender was roughly the same height as he was, but more buff. He was able to figure out that his hair was jet black and was in braids that were decorated with beads that clanked whenever he moved. Judging by the looks and the way he talked, he knew that he was up against someone who was half Japanese and half African.

"Fuck you," the contestant hissed again, spitting some blood out onto the floor.

"No thanks, go fuck a whore," Xiao Lang said sarcastically, rolling his eyes. The contestant just swore at him again then swiftly launched himself at Xiao Lang. Of course, Xiao Lang was ready, but he didn't expect his sword to fly off his hands with such powerful force. Xiao Lang's eyes slightly widened when he heard his sword stab the ground with a small thud. He looked at the contestant and was able to dodge his face from being sliced open.

"Ah, so you have blood to, eh?" scoffed the armed man before him. He raised his sword to his eye level. In the moonlight, the tip of it was dark, compared to the rest of the blade which was a bit lighter. "Funny, with your cold and bitchy attitude, I would've thought that your blood was black."

Xiao Lang gingerly felt his cheek where it was starting to become a little irritated. He looked at his two fingertips to see it dark and wet. They were stained with his own blood. Xiao Lang growled and ran toward him, deciding to use his fists for this combat. The contender scoffed and was ready to slice his neck off when Xiao Lang flipped upward, and didn't land.

"What the?" He looked around quickly, checking for any surprise attacks, but none came. He hastily turned to his side where he heard the sound of ringing metal, only to find nothing.

Except the fact that Xiao Lang's sword was no longer there.

Suddenly, he was on floor within a blink of an eye.

His own weapon slid away from his grasp. He gasped for air and looked up, only to see dark, angry eyes glaring down at him coldly. In fact, he gulped and was suddenly filled with fear. Xiao Lang was sitting on his chest with both of his knees on the opponent's elbows, which clearly was causing him a lot of pain. His hand had a deathly grip around his neck, crushing his head on the dirt. His other arm was raised, with his sword in his hand once again. The tip of his sword was just a few inches away from his neck.

"And you called me a retard," Xiao Lang scoffed, inching his sword closer to his neck. He dragged the tip of his sword across the side of his neck, giving him a small cut.

He cried out in pain, and panted.

"You _are_ a retard," with nothing else, he spit on his face. Xiao Lang growled and was about to stab him, until there was another rustle in the bushes nearby.

"If you kill him, the say goodbye to this person I picked up late at night." a figure stepped out near the two combatants. Xiao Lang's eyes slightly widened, seeing the figure carrying someone else by the waist. The figure's free hand had a stiletto against the hostage's neck. The innocent person waved their legs helplessly as it was just hovering above the dirt. The hostage looked at Xiao Lang, widened their eyes as well, and released a loud, muffled scream that sounded like his name through his hand.

'Ying Fa,'

* * *

**Author's Note: There are some explanations listed in this chapter. But, there are still many explanations that I haven't explained, lol. Thing will become more clearer as the chapters go on. Oh, that retard thing in the end was weird, so don't ask because even I don't know what I did there. So disregard all the grammatical errors and whatnot because my eyes hurt right now.**

**Just don't stop reviewing! -thumbs up- They encourage me to continue, and make my day. (Flames are ignored)**

**Okay, if you want an email for whenever I update this story, or any of my stories, give me a PM or say so in your review. Please tell me whether it's for one, or a few stories, or all of them. Be specific, basically. **

**Lots of love,**

**-AngeL**

**P.S.- It's a bit cliché though, eh? With Syaoran showing his warmer side to Sakura. Btw, as long as they're in China, they're names are in Chinese...unless I don't know their chinese names, like for example, Touya.**

**P.P.S. - I talk too much! **


	3. SHaTTeRiNG SCReaMS

_**Disclaimer: I do not own CCS, but I strictly own the plot.**_

**Author's Notes: ROAR! Lol, don't ask. Thanks to Mini Sweety who pointed out an error that didn't make sense...see? I'm not very good with things like this. XD She proved it, too! Anyway.  
**

**So...here's the next chapter of the story...and for once, I think this is the longest chapter I've typed for so far...-hee hee- It explains quite a bit, though and things are going to get interesting soon enough! It might be a bit boring...but I never knew that I can make Sakura so cold...Anyway, my computer ate my computer account data that had my documents and everything else! And I was too stupid to not save anything on disk or back it up...Oh well...-growl-**

**I apologize for the late updates!

* * *

**

**Killing Me Softly, Angelic Yet Deadly**  
By: AngelicKitty28

* * *

_**From the previous chapter... **_

"_If you kill him, the say goodbye to this person I picked up late at night." a figure stepped out near the two combatants. Xiao Lang's eyes slightly widened, seeing the figure carrying someone else by the waist. The figure's free hand had a stiletto against the hostage's neck. The innocent person waved their legs helplessly as it was just hovering above the dirt. The hostage looked at Xiao Lang, widened their eyes as well, and released a loud, muffled scream that sounded like his name through his hand._

'_Ying Fa,'

* * *

_

**Chapter 3 **

**-SHaTTeRiNG SCReaMS-**

"So, watcha gonna do, buddy?" the figure's tone nothing near to friendly, "Kill my friend and get her killed, or let my friend go and I'll let her go." He made her point by shaking her harshly.

He glanced uneasily at Ying Fa's wide, innocent eyes, pleading eyes compared to his own hostage that he had pounced on. He seemed to have forgotten the pain in his neck, and was now smirking up at him. Xiao Lang growled at this and grabbed him around the neck, pulling him up. He sputtered, but made his way to his feet.

"Don't do anything stupid," Ying Fa's kidnapper growled and she felt the stiletto's edge nearly pierce her first layer of skin. She groaned helplessly inwardly and closed her eyes. "You too, missy, now be a good girl and don't talk. Got it?" she didn't respond, but her eyebrows furrowed, "I said, GOT IT?" She snapped her eyes open in annoyance and nodded strongly. "Good, bitch." He shifted her position by removing his hand around her mouth and instead, placing it tightly around her neck with the stiletto aiming for her heart.

Xiao Lang observed this and growled inwardly, ignoring the fact that his partner was gasping but kept his silence and watched his brother as well.

"How about we trade, so we can get on with this rigged battle?" Xiao Lang asked monotonously, making his grip tighter on the poor hostage or his. He felt him tense in his grasp, but did nothing. Xiao Lang watched as the moonlight bounced off Ying Fa's kidnapper's eyes, which reflected his worry for his partner.

Such a predicament they were in…

"Maybe, but she's such a pretty little girl…" he said, the worry in his eyes flashed away as quick as a look of lust stained his eyes. He started placing harsh kisses upon her neck and his hand slowly making it's way underneath her breasts while glancing quickly at Xiao Lang to see his reaction. She released a throaty whimper which diminished quickly as Xiao Lang's grip on his sword tightened almost visibly. Maybe they saw it. Maybe they didn't.

So Xiao Lang tried something else. With his speed, his own hostage blinked and found himself in such pain as his back hit a trunk of a tree with so much force. At time same time, Xiao Lang kept his eye on Ying Fa's kidnapper. The grip on her was beginning to tense, but it was beginning to loosen around her neck. All this time she had been watching Xiao Lang through her eyelashes and figured out what he was doing. He must've known that she was watching him, because he gave her a discreet nod.

"Alright, we'll trade, dammit!" yelled out her kidnapper which caused her to wince at the sudden volume.

Xiao Lang smirked in the moonlight.

"Deal."

Xiao Lang swiftly lifted his hostage in the air and gave him a jump kick which sent him flying across the yard. He then turned and threw the same dagger that he used earlier at his stiletto, and hit Ying Fa's kidnapper straight in the hand which was holding the stiletto. Their screams of shock and pain were simultaneous. The stiletto's handler gave a reflex after being stabbed in the hand, which caused him jerk and pierce her.

She fell to ground with a loud thud and panted with pain coursing through and all over her. She managed to see Xiao Lang take a step toward her, but changed direction as soon as he saw the two cheaters wobbling to their feet.

"YOU BASTARD! MY HAND—YOU--"

"FUCKING SON OF A BITCH! YOU THINK YOU CAN BEAT US NOW?"

Ah, twins.

Xiao Lang had quickly made his way in front of Ying Fa.

"It's going to be over soon." He whispered, but she didn't know whether he was saying to her, or himself. He had already taken out the dagger, and she figured out that she wasn't stabbed that deep in chest. The pain, however, was stilling eating her up.

He watched the twins' silhouettes move at the same pace, same movement, same energy, with the same rage. His sword rang and shone in the moonlight as his grip tightened, ready to strike.

He scoffed, "Idiots." He slightly turned his head sideways and looked down at her.

"Don't watch." Was all he said, turning his attention back to his opponents. Xiao Lang charged towards them and yelled a battle cry. Weapons clashed at first, along with more swearing and cries of pain.

"I SAID DON'T WATCH!"

There was a disgusting sound of pierced flesh, followed by loud spatters, and then silence.

**-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

She awoke with a jolt, and immediately threw up her stomach's contents all over the side of her bed. It seemed that her body was too scared to do so last night, and everything, including her fear and all the food she digested, was exiting through her mouth with each gag. She collapsed on her pillow again, panting and sweating.

"W-where am I…?" her eyes were still getting focused at the bright lights, compared to the dark battle scene with only moonlight as a source of light.

"In the infirmary." Said a smooth, lady voice beside her. She snapped her direction the other side of her bed, where her contents weren't spilled, thank goodness, and found no other than Xiao Lang's mother herself.

"I—isn't—I mean, umm…" she stuttered and blushed in embarrassment, knowing that she witnessed her first reaction to waking up. She was even too afraid to look at such royalty in the eyes and found the marble floors much more interesting.

"Don't worry Ying Fa," she said gently, and Ying Fa hesitantly looked up to see her smiling warmly at her. She blushed and wanted to stand up to at least bow, but her pain the chest restricted her to do so, causing her to groan out in pain and slump back heavily onto the bed. Yelan quickly was by her side and placed a hand to her forehead, which was very much clammy.

"Try not to move around so much, your wound isn't that deep and we thought you lost a lot of blood…" she looked towards a chair which had her stained night clothes on it, covered with blood around the chest area and a lot of grass stains and dirt.

"That must've been one of the twins' blood…" Ying Fa murmured, fluttering her eyes shut lightly, "What happened last night anyway…?" She heard Yelan shift and remove her hand from her forehead.

"I could be asking you the same thing." She sat down on her chair again, one leg over the other and her hands placed lightly on her lap. Her dark eyes blinked at her, waiting for her to begin.

She explained everything already, how she was just outside hearing Xiao Lang, how she was quickly kidnapped, how she got stabbed and how Xiao Lang finished them off. She swallowed more contents of her stomach that she didn't know she had after hearing those horrid sounds before she fell unconscious. She was at least glad that she closed her eyes in time before he gave them what they deserved for cheating in this stupid competition. She shuddered and tried not to think how Xiao Lang ended last night's match.

Her anger began to rise again at such a competition. She nearly got killed because of his stupid antics! Not only her, but her brother as well!

She very well knew already that she wasn't going to leave, not that she was able to, until Xiao Lang had gave her permission to leave.

More like she needed him to trust her before her brother and her were able to leave.

'What a jerk!' she thought, seething.

"It looks like your stories are the same then," said Yelan thoughtfully, causing her to snap out of her thoughts and look at Xiao Lang's mother, "I know Xiao Lang rarely lies, but with your life on the line last night…" She stood up, but squeezed her hand softly before exiting.

"I apologize for last night." She said sadly, "I didn't think that anyone one of his opponents would use people in the household as weapons to defeat my son. Xiao Lang had guaranteed it from the start, though…" She bowed her head and then left.

Ying Fa's eyebrows were furrowed in thought as she stared up at the ceiling, thinking about what she just said.

"…_weapons to defeat my son…"_

"Great, is that all I am?" she growled to the ceiling, a growl which reminded her of him, "Great, I'm even acting like him too! Next I'll be PMSing 24/7!"

"I beg your pardon?" Came a deep voice from the door. She eeped and her body jerked reflexively in which she was now sitting up with the covers brought up to her nose and clenched tightly. Xiao Lang blinked at her and made his way to the chair where his mother was just sitting at. He crossed his arms and glared at her.

"My question is still standing, thanks." He rolled his eyes and she mirrored his action as she brought the covers down.

"Yeah, you got your pardon." She said sarcastically earning a raised eyebrow from him.

"Are your stupid remarks your way of thanking me?"

She widened her eyes at this and her rage began talking.

"Thanking you?" she said in low, deadly whisper, "Thanking you for what? For getting me kidnapped in your stupid game? FOR KEEPING MY BROTHER AND I HERE? Thank you for getting me nearly killed, and oh- WHY, THANK YOU for getting me STABBED in the heart and letting me watch those twins die?" She spat the last word venomously and had gradually started to speak louder. She had gotten out of bed without knowing it and was now staring at him straight in the eye with such rage that she was able to feel it burn in her eyes.

"Don't forget to thank me for the cut on her neck—"

Slap.

"YOU JERK! HOW CAN YOU BE SO SHALLOW?" she bellowed at him, slamming her fists on the armrests of the chair. Her next look could've freaked anyone out. Her eyes suddenly turned hollow and her face turned extremely pale as she collapsed. He quickly got up and caught so she landed on his chest. He lifted her up with ease and was now carrying her bridal style. He placed her gently on the bed. She murmured a few words that she couldn't hear and she blinked a few times.

"O-oww…" she clutched the heart of her shirt that she was given and bit her bottom lip in pain. Her breathing started to come out in quick, heavy hisses and began sweating.

"You opened your wound again, idiot…" he said casually, different from his usual monotonous tone. He watched as she stared at the hand which was covered in her own blood that seeped through her shirt. He waited for her snappy remark, but she didn't say anything. She couldn't even see the look in her eyes for her bangs were covering them.

"I hate you…" she said darkly, still not looking at him. He took a step back, staring at her with bewilderment.

"I HATE YOU!" she snapped her head towards him. His own eyes widened seeing her teeth bared and her eyes, only filled with hatred that was directed towards him. Tears were beginning to shine through from the corner of her eyes. None, however, were flowing down her cheeks.

He didn't know what to say, but just took another step back towards the door. Almost immediately, the door slammed open and the doctors filled into the room, clashing against his sides as they pushed past him. Finally, not that he was able to see it, but she covered her face in which he thought that she was covering her eyes. He huffed and turned to walk away, glancing idly at her and seeing that she had removed her hands and were not cupped in front of her.

He was shocked to see how her tears looked so solid and how they sparkled in the lighting. Not only that, but her tears hard nearly filled her cupped hands, without any of it seeping through between the cracks of her fingers.

**-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

They didn't encounter each other for the rest of the week, and no one had dared to try for the competition again since.

Xiao Lang sighed as he made his way toward the kitchen for something to eat. As he opened the door, he collided with someone immediately. He growled and looked up, knowing that there weren't many people in the household who was actually taller than him. It had to be—

"T--Kinomoto." He said curtly and coldly before pushing past him. Touya restricted him to do so by pushing back out of the kitchen.

"What did you do to my sister, kid?" he asked angrily, having a firm hold of his shoulders.

"I didn't do—"

"Don't give me that bullshit," he snapped, removing his grip but shoved him with hand hard enough to cause him to stumble a few steps back, "She's never been this angry at anyone before. She keeps crying ever since you 'visited' her last week. Heck, she's well enough to move and yet she doesn't want to take one step out of the medical wing!"

Xiao Lang sneered, "Maybe she's—"

"No, she isn't." Touya didn't care what he was going to say, because for all he cared, he was never going to say anything nice about his sister, "I thank you for sparing our lives, but as long as she's this harsh and cold, then I'm sorry to say, but that makes both of us." Touya glared down at him, "She's only turning into you day by day…" With that, he walked away

"Both of them are angry at me, eh?" he raised an eyebrow at the thought and began walking away from the kitchen. He turned his attention to voices that was coming from the other room. He leaned against the doorway, listening attentively.

"I'm sorry, we still have no evidence at all." Sighed one of the detectives as Yelan rubbed her temples.

"No ransom fees, anything?" she asked wearily. The detective shook his head.

"You know how teenagers are these days, talking about running away or something…" Yelan glared at him before he could finish his sentence.

"Thank you, though, and I'll see if anyone heard anything." They both bowed and the detective left the room, bowing to Xiao Lang promptly as he made his way inside the room.

"Nothing yet, mother?" asked Xiao Lang as he watched her removed the band that held her high pony tail together.

"No, my dear." She said, running her hand through her long hair out of frustration. She wasn't that old, but the stress was causing some of her roots to turn white. Xiao Lang frowned and looked thoughtful.

"You didn't do anything that might've…"

"Triggered something? We annoy each other all the time, mother," Xiao Lang said as if he had said it over a million times.

"Yes, yes, that's true…"

**-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

Ah well, she knew that she couldn't stay in that room for the rest of the summer. Touya was completely healed of wounds and was up and keeping himself away from boredom.

And away from Xiao Lang.

Every time she thought about him, it stirred a headache. She groaned at this and got up from bed. Touya visited to keep her company. Going back to her room wouldn't be something pleasant this time, even though she enjoyed the coloured walls and furniture instead of the white walls and chairs that she woke up to everyday. Touya's room was right beside it, anyway, so that was a good thing. Xiao Lang's room was only down the hall, and the bathroom was along the way to his room. Of course, she didn't want to see him and going back to her room would increase the chance of bumping into him. At least there was a bathroom in the infirmary, and the infirmary was in a different level than where her room was, anyway.

Her father was on many business trips this summer and was traveling the world to have his excavations in. He knew that his children were visiting Hong Kong as they had visited Hong Kong as a family when she was only an infant, not being able to remember anything. She glanced at digital clock that was beside her on a night table. Of course because of the technology in the household, the digital clock not said the time, but also the day, month, year… It was only mid-July, and her father would probably be home by the end of August, or somewhere around that time.

She sighed and rested her hands behind the back of her head as she fell back onto her pillow as she did countless times. A second later, she rubbed the area where she was stabbed. The pain was reduced to a numbing sensation that often made her uncomfortable, but other than that, she was well. She sighed again, thinking about how her friends knew nothing of her being nearly killed in one of the stupidest, yet deadliest competitions that they had often talked about. Of course, that was all in Tomoeda, and this was Hong Kong, where she was much closer to The Xiao Lang than any of her friends would probably ever be.

"_Do you even think that anyone would beat Xiao Lang?" asked Naoko, looking above her book. They were under the cherry blossom tree, as where they often had lunch or hung out. The heat was a bother, and the shade was cooling them off. It was a beautiful day, all in all._

"_Dude, he was training since he was able to walk!" Chiharu exclaimed, "With skills like that, I think it'd be tough."_

"_Did you know that training came from—"_

_Bonk._

"_Shut up, Yamazaki."_

"_Anyway, with those looks…he can't be beaten! His looks would probably kill them!" Tomoyo laughed after swallowing some of her lunch._

Ohhhh how right Tomoyo had been…With his cold glares and mean growls…

"_Sure, I bet he can make any guy gay with his looks." Sakura rolled her eyes sarcastically after putting down her lunch container._

_Everyone laughed at this._

She smiled, remembering what she had said. She let out a giggle, knowing how terribly wrong she was.

She had to admit, though, he was fairly good looking.

Hot even.

With that body…but if he smiled at least once, it might've made him look even better…

Oh, look, he's right there…

"HOLY SH---" Her reflex caused her to fall out of her bed with her legs suspending in the air.

"Idiot…"

"Oh shuttup!" She yelled out in frustration from below the bed, "Couldn't you ever say anything nice at all?"

Xiao Lang went on his fours and lifted the hem of the covers that extended to underneath the mattress to see her face immediately glare at him, upside down.

"Probably any sentence without me swearing is the nicest thing I say," he rolled his eyes.

"Pssht, like I care anyway." Xiao Lang got on his knees in time to see her do a handstand and then flipped herself, arching gracefully over the bed and landing on her feet right in front of him.

He raised an eyebrow at her and she shrugged and sat down on the bed, rubbing her wound in discomfort and hoping that it wasn't going to open again.

"It's the ceiling," she said sarcastically, "I'd be crippled if it was any lower."

"Sure," he replied with equal sarcasm, "Crippled is being better than cut in fours."

"What?" Now it was her turn to raise an eyebrow at him, but something told her that it was something that she didn't want to know… He stared at her for a second before continuing what he was going to say, which wasn't at all pretty…

"Let's just say…those twins turned out to be…mini quadruplets in the end…" A flash of amusement flickered in his amber orbs as she instantly turned white and covered her mouth with her hand. She swallowed, and her breathing was easy again.

"I didn't need to know that." She said curtly.

"Well, ever since they heard what I did to them and what happened, word on the street is that everyone is pretty much scared of competing against me. I got it easy for the week." he explained more to himself, or so she thought.

"Like I said, I didn't need to know that." She said again, hopping off her bed and walking towards the door.

"Your brother told me that you never stepped out of this room." He said amusedly, looking at her backside, "Probably you didn't want to see me, huh?"

"Well, it reduced the risk of seeing you here." She said thoughtfully, "Now that you're in here, it's safe for me to leave this room." Before she was able to even touch the door handle, her other wrist was grabbed tightly and spun her around.

"Oww, geez, what?" she demanded, rubbing her wrist and staring in amber, angrily.

"You think I'd kill you?" he asked seriously, staring at her in the eye.

She gulped and whispered so quietly that he slightly leaned closer to hear, "You're the one that nearly got me killed…"

"Is that why you keep crying?" he asked slowly. The effect was immediate and her face turned red.

"I don't 'keep crying'," she spat out, "I cried that day because it hurt! I was scared, dammit! I want my life back! I wanted to enjoy my vacation here and Hong Kong! And you don't even know my condition! My stupid brother exaggerated!"

There it was again, a flicker of red rage in her emerald eyes and it contrasted.

And finally, "Why don't you just let us go?" she was whining like a little girl, perhaps her bubbly, cute, pouting self was surfacing again and her swearing, cold self would disappear.

"Because," he finally said, standing close enough so that she had to tilt her head to look at him. His intense gaze was causing her rage to overcome her cheeks, making them on fire.

"Because…?" she urged him to continue, trying to keep her gaze on him so she didn't seem like a coward from him.

"Because, you know Mei Ling."

* * *

**-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**Author's Notes: Long chapter...-dizzy- Things are only going to get better, and wow, two updates in less than a week...Ooh and be sure to check out my new story, Only Not Spoken, no? The next chapter for that is going to be up pretty soon. **

**Clicky the review button! -innocent grin- Flames ignored, like always.**

**Love and apologies for late updates from,  
-AngeL **


	4. Sense of Sensing

**_Disclaimer: I do not own CCS, it rightfully belongs to CLAMP, but I do own the plot. _**

**Author's Note: YAY, thank you for the reviews! -grin- And here's the next update...which I'm impressed with because I don't remember updating this fast...and this chapter has over 6000 words, making it the longest chapter I've written now! Things are finally starting to get interesting too...

* * *

**

**Killing Me Softly, Angelic Yet Deadly**  
By: AngelicKitty28

**Chapter 4**

**-Sense -of- Sensing-**

* * *

She took an intake of breath, silently and took a step back, looking at him with bewilderment. She opened and closed her mouth a few times, trying to say something. It took her a moment to register everything in her mind. 

"You're…You're _Syaoran_!" she finally exclaimed more to herself than to him, her eyes still widened. She shook her head slightly.

"Well, that took you a while to figure out…" Xiao Lang said, staring at her with no emotion lighting up his eyes, leaving them a dull shade, "Xiao Lang is Chinese…and—"

"Syaoran is Xiao Lang in Japanese, I know, I know…" she murmured, "and now it all makes sense…I can't believe I didn't figure that out…"

He raised an eyebrow at her and she was going back to memory lane.

"_Come on, Sakura! You have to! You always refuse each guy who wants to ask you out!" Mei Ling exclaimed one time as they were in Tomoyo's house. It was only the three: Sakura, Tomoyo, and Mei Ling. _

"_I didn't even meet the guy! How would I know whether I'd like to go out with him or not?" Sakura shook her head at her. She was probably one of the prettiest girls in Tomoeda High and was often asked out by most of male population in the school. However, she never once said yes to any of them but she did turn them down nicely instead of spitting in their faces._

"_Besides, Mei Ling, you practically turn down every guy yourself," Tomoyo added and Sakura and herself started to giggle as Mei Ling turned as red as her eyes. _

"_There's no point since I'll be going back to Hong Kong this summer for the rest of high school," she tossed her long, jet black hair that was in the odango style, over her shoulder as it was beginning to irritate her arm slightly. She had decided to come back for a visit, but then decided to stay with her friends for the first year of high school, calling her life in Hong Kong "boring" without them. "That contest is also freaking me out a bit," she shuddered visibly, "I feel safer here."_

"_Aww Mei Ling, but isn't everyone safe as long as they're not within the Li territory?" Sakura asked from Tomoyo's huge bed, hugging one of Tomoyo's huge pillows close to her chest and resting her chin upon it. _

_Mei Ling looked thoughtful, "You could say that." _

"_How old's your cousin, anyway?" Tomoyo asked, throwing one of her smaller pillows at Mei Ling, who was sitting on a revolving chair. The pillow whizzed past one of her odango buns. _

"_Hey!" she exclaimed, holding the pillow tossing it back at her with more force, "Oh, he's three years older than us." Tomoyo ducked in time and it hit the wall with a soft thud. _

"_Highschool?" Sakura placed the large pillow over head as her two friends kept throwing pillows at each other._

"_Nope, he graduated early, you can say." She replied thoughtfully, getting hit in the chest with an 'oof'. Sakura stared down and then suddenly jumped from the bed, pouncing on Mei Ling and began tickling her._

"_I change my mind, I'm not safe here in Tomoeda!" Mei Ling cried out between gasps of air and laughter. Tomoyo had joined in, whacking her in the face with a pillow before tickling her too._

"_Alright, I'll go out with him." _

_They both stopped and stared at Sakura, mouths wide open as their eyes. _

"_Really?" Both of her friends asked simultaneously, slowly standing up. Sakura blushed and nodded meekly._

"_FINALLY!" _

"_Calm down!" Sakura exclaimed over the cheering, rubbing her temples, "I just thought that he'll be different than the guys at Tomoeda High! Sounds mature, anyway…"_

'Oh he was mature alright…_' _Sakura thought bitterly, biting the insides of her cheek, 'Mature enough to have a contest where he can go on a killing spree.'

_Mei Ling had explained that she had more difficulty persuading her cousin to go out with her, because he was equally stubborn about going out with girls. Sakura was told that he was "popular" like her and was asked out whenever there was a chance. Touya objected, of course, but she didn't listen to him and went to Tomoyo's house to get ready._

"_Wow Sakura, you'll blow him away!"_

_They were going to meet at a fancy restaurant and her date had reserved a table for them specially. She waited patiently at her table, sipping nothing but a bit of water to not spoil her dinner._

_Five minutes turned to half an hour…to an hour…two hours…_

_He never came._

_She was devastated._

_She was soon picked up and went straight to Tomoyo's house where both of her friends were waiting for juicy details, but sadly, they weren't going to get anything. Of course, she was devastated of being stood her up like that, but she wasn't going to cry or anything. Mei Ling had promised to give him a good beating/yelling the following day and kept apologizing for the date. Sakura had forgiven her easily, but not her cousin. _

"_What's his name?" Sakura had asked calmly. She thought they would introduce each other at first, but now that wasn't the case._

"_Li Syaoran."_

She blinked back the memories and looked up at him who still was looking at her.

"You stood me up." She whispered, but he caught it.

"I was busy that night," he said uncomfortably, and shifted that looked more like a shrug.

"That doesn't matter, you would've told Mei Ling you couldn't make it then!" she exclaimed with clenched fists, feeling the pain of being stood up again and as an afterthought, 'then again, you have no heart, bastard.'

"I said, I. Was. Busy." he said slowly and more with a growl.

"What. Ever." She shook him off and pushed past him and out the door she went. She speed walked, not wanting to be caught up with the infamous Li Syaoran, head of the Li clan or even stay in his presence for more than a second. She ran down the long staircase, trying not to remember that he had saved her that time from nearly falling and breaking every bone she had.

"Where is she?" bellowed a voice from above her. She glanced up quickly to see him grasp the railing and looking down at her.

"'SHE' does NOT want to see YOU." She yelled back from below, startling some of the maids that were busy dusting some of the historical items in the house. One maid nearly tipped a vase over, and Ying Fa murmured a quick, genuine apology before turning her attention back to the clan leader.

"I didn't mean you," He growled, "I meant Mei Ling!"

"How would I know?" she threw her hands up in frustration and continued her way once more, hearing his heavy footsteps descend down the stair case. He paused his steps mid-way, "I was going to see her on my _vacation_," she articulated the word loud and clear, "but noooooooooooo I'm stuck here!"

"She didn't say _anything _at all to you?" he asked exasperatedly, ignoring whatever she said before, "I don't mean about me when I stood you up, but I mean about running away!" She stopped and turned to face him.

"What do you mean?" she asked, eyebrows knotted and arms crossed.

"She's been _missing, _Ying Fa, MISSING!" he exclaimed finally and ran his hand through his hair. Her eyes widened slightly when he actually said her name here in the house. She took a step towards him so she could see him better and saw stress shadowing in his face. The first time he actually said her name aloud… she would've enjoyed that moment until it finally hit her that one of her friends was missing…

"WHAT?" She finally screeched.

"Damn it woman, you're so slow…" he huffed, and his voice went softer a notch, "Mei Ling's been missing since the day after she moved back here."

She shook her head, "She moved back the weekend school ended. Touya and I came here a few days after…" She paused, "BUT SHE'S MISSING?"

"YES, NOW SHUT UP!" He roared, finally fed up. He grabbed the banister with one hand, and flipped over the remaining distance instead of the taking the rest of the stairs.

"Oh my—I have to tell Tomoyo!" She ran to the guest room where she knew a telephone was resting upon one of the tables near the sofas. Xiao Lang reached her in time to block her from entering into the room, with arms outstretched, "Let me through! I _have_ to tell Tomoyo!"

"She probably knows, bitch." He really was getting annoyed of her right now, but she was getting annoyed of him being restricted of everything, "She's dating Hiiragizawa and that imbecile is my stupid second cousin or something like that. So she knows."

"What? Since when?" she groaned when she tried to trick him, but he moved too fast for her and was still blocking the door. "When the heck were you actually going to tell all of this, actually?" she crossed her arms again and glared up at him. Damn, he just had to be a nearly a foot taller than her…

He huffed and crossed his arms as well, staring down at her, "Well, I WOULD'VE told you sooner if you weren't so scared me of for the past week—"

"COULD YOU STOP SAYING THAT!" she pushed him in the chest with strength he didn't know she had, and it actually caused him to stumble back a bit and ended up inside the room, "I. Was. NOT. Afraid of you!" She took that time to slip pass him and ran to the phone, quickly dialing Tomoyo's cell phone number.

"You—" he groaned in his sentence before dashing over to grab the cable plug from the output.

"What the—oh my—WHAT'S WITH YOU?"

"What on earth is going on in here?" Yelan barged in the room followed by a the maids who Ying Fa apologized to, and her brother who's eyes already flashed with coldness and hatred towards Xiao Lang.

**---------------------------------------------------------------------------**

"So none of you had heard from Mei Ling at all?" Yelan asked a second time to the two Kinomoto children. Both of them shook their heads solemnly, wishing that they had a lead to where this young woman could be…

"But she came back to Hong Kong, right? Safely?" Ying Fa asked, worried etched in her eyes and shimmers of tears threatening to fall.

"Yes, and by the next day, she was gone." Yelan explained with difficulty, "No ransom, no evidence, and no one heard from her…" She sighed.

"Well…could I ask Tomoyo? Maybe she heard something?" Ying Fa asked meekly, wringing her hands on her lap. Xiao Lang shot a glare at her, but his mother nodded. She got up and walked over to the phone, ignoring the fact that they were watching her. She picked up the phone and dialed.

"_Hi! It's Tomoyo! Sorry I'm not here, leave a message!" _

"Strange…" she murmured to herself, hanging up instead of leaving a message, after a few seconds, she picked up the receiver again and dialed.

"_Hello, you have reached the Daidouji residence. Please leave your name and message and—" _

She hung up once more and sighed.

"Tomoyo's not anywhere…" she walked back to the soft and heavily sat herself down beside her brother.

"Hiiragizawa must've taken her out or something." Xiao Lang mumbled from the other sofa across from them.

"Maybe…" she murmured, in thought, "I'll try again later or something. Or maybe she's searching for her too?"

No one answered her.

**---------------------------------------------------------------------------**

Well, Ying Fa didn't care anymore about bumping to Xiao Lang again, so she finally made her way to the higher level where her previous room was. She threw herself on her bed, forgetting how comfortable it really was compared to her bed in the infirmary. She exhaled heavily and stared up at the canopy of her bed, then tossed herself over so her face was buried in the pillow. She closed her eyes.

"You've really got to stop appearing in the doorway like that." She murmured, not bothering to open her eyes.

"I do what I want." came a deep voice from the doorway, "Unless you forgot again that I'm Li Xiao Lang—"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I got it the first time," she threw a pillow at him trying to tone down her blush of embarrassment. He caught it with ease without moving more than his hands and threw it back on the bed. She turned around and sat up, facing him. "What do you want this time, huh?"

She was even surprised herself how used she was to Xiao Lang's 'visits' and how easily she was able to sense when he was right there.

He blinked down at her and she blinked up at him. He suddenly averted his eyes from her.

"I'll let you and your brother leave—"

"REALLY?"

"IF, you help m—us find Mei Ling." He said sternly, snapping his head back at her direction.

"That means I get to contact everyone we know—"

"Yes, it does." He snapped quickly, "I'm letting you use the phone now since there'll be more security over it."

"What's that supposed to mean?" she lifted an eyebrow at him.

"Look, your brother knows this already. He's smart," he admitted sourly.

"You're calling me stupid, aren't you…?"

He ignored her, "If anyone found out that your brother, a former contestant, was spared from losing my contest…" he trailed off, his voice icy cold, "I wouldn't be the only one to face the consequences."

"So you recognized me as, 'the girl you stood up', the first time eh?" she asked sarcastically, "Is that why you kept us here? You thought I'd know more about Mei Ling?"

"I couldn't exactly kidnap you the first time I saw you near that cliff, but…" He exhaled silently, and then nodded slightly. Silence enveloped them awkwardly as she clenched the thin covers of her bed more tightly. She wasn't under his gaze anymore, thank goodness, but his gaze was rather searching the room…

The atmosphere suddenly changed as his eyes practically turned to slits and snapped his direction to the balcony of the room.

Feeling her hair stand on end, she gasped, "W-what is it?" He walked towards the balcony doors and pulled the curtains aside, looking outside.

"Someone placed a bomb in the yard…" he closed his eyes and concentrated, "It's coming from over there…" He placed his hand over the glass and knew that no one would've been able to see that from where he was.

She listened carefully as he talked to himself, yet she was amazed how someone as young as he was able to sense something from indoors and through walls. Her eyes widened suddenly, "A BOMB! WE'RE GOING TO DIE!"

"Oh, shut UP!" he roared at her, "No one is going to die except the person who planted that thing in the first place." He huffed and scanned the yard again, "How amateur…using a bomb to surprise me…"

"Huh?"

"It means," He began, getting annoyed, "He'll distract me or something to get me near enough to the bomb and then boom."

"Well, geez, I'm sorry that I don't know anything about assassination!" she said sarcastically, rolling her eyes. She waited for him to snap back, but he scanning the yard slowly. It was almost sunset, and the sky was turning a mix of oranges. She would only want no more than to go outside and watch the skies, but last time she went to the balcony, she was kidnapped and stabbed and what not. She shuddered, knowing that she wasn't going to go out again, especially being told that someone could be out there, waiting for their turn to compete against him.

"Pfft…they're only lying low…"

She looked at him. He didn't look as if he had some machine planted in his eyes to pinpoint exactly where the bomb was, or even a heat sensor implanted in him to see where his next opponent lay hidden. He simply looked like a normal, young adult staring out the window. Of course, minus his scowl that never seemed to fade from his looks or the cold, harsh tone he used when he talked or barked at people.

"I could probably eat dinner in time to battle that idiot…"

Finally, she felt his amber eyes on her.

"What are you staring at, bitch?" he sneered, not knowing about the small pink tinge that she had nearly made visible.

She shook her head discreetly with disheartenment and to shake her trance off. "Nothing," she managed to mumble, and exited her room. He watched at her with wonder and the door was quietly clicked shut, leaving him alone and aghast.

**---------------------------------------------------------------------------**

He was late for dinner, but still managed to finish his meal before his sisters, who were surprisingly quiet, and Ying Fa. Yelan had stayed to keep them company, and had told her that her brother had an early dinner before heading to the dojo which was near the kitchen. Ying Fa noticed throughout dinner that Xiao Lang seemed more distant and followed his glances toward the window, which lead to the court yard where there was a clear view of it in her temporary room.

'He even concentrates during dinner?' she lifted an eyebrow that quickly went down again as she took a sip of her water, 'Impossible…'

After dinner, she made her way down to the dojo with slight difficulty, since she never went down that hallway past the kitchen before. The door was a sliding door made out of wood with paper filling the squares in the door. The same went for the walls, and she looked down the hallway where the walls continued in the design until she couldn't see what was beyond that. She figured it was the perimeter and area of the dojo, which was large. Inside, she heard battle cries and was able to see her brother's faint silhouette moving across the length of the dojo.

"Onii-chan?" she called for him, loud enough to hear. His silhouette stopped and went to open the sliding door for her.

"Yeah?" he looked down at her for a second before walking alongside the wall where a towel lay ready for him.

"Nothing, just came here to watch you." She said truthfully, following him. It was a hot day, and there wasn't any air conditioning in the dojo. In fact, there was no electricity at all, since there was another door on the opposite wall of the entrance, which was wider, but led to the courtyard where it was possible to train as well. The dojo was usually used more often during the winter, but because of the competition, her brother played it safe and took to training indoors.

Usually, Xiao Lang battled his opponents in the back courtyard where it was easier for them to enter since it was too large for the guards to watch. The dojo was placed on the side where the courtyard wasn't as large, but more rectangular. However, anything was possible during this time of the contest.

"Alright then." He said, walking towards a wall made of black marble, which was completely decorated with weapons. From glaives to staffs, swords to fans and even bows and arrows, everything was there presented along the wall. Every weapon she could think of was right in front of her, except for guns. She was going to ask about her observation, until Touya's battle cry had startled her.

She sat against the wall, watching him move and send glances at her from time to time. Even when she walked in, her brother was already drenched in sweat from sparring here and there to nothing but the air itself, and he often trained shirtless, and his shirt lay abandoned near his towel. She was used to this since in Tomoeda, he'd usually train out in their yard every morning and night. Yukito was also his sparing partner and they often fought each other. Yukito's older brother, Yue, and his best friend, Cerberus, had taught them both about self defense and combat. Xiao Lang may have started earlier than they did, but they still trained as hard as they could, pushing themselves more or a little less of their bodies' limits.

He wiped the sweat off his forehead and walked back to the wall to get another weapon. Abruptly, he tightened his grasp on his previous weapon which was a katana, and threw it at his sister's direction. Her eye's widened; her voice stuck on her tongue, but managed to duck in time. The katana pierced part of the wooden, empty squares of the wall, nearly tearing the paper.

"You're so gay, Touya!" she finally screamed, releasing the sword from the wood where her head was just rest, and threw it back at her idiotic brother with sheer force. "Are trying to murder me or something?" Touya bent back and grabbed the hilt of the sword before it stabbed the marble. He straightened himself again and placed the sword back in its place on the wall.

"No, but you should keep in shape and train." he said seriously, and then added, "You're getting too rusty, kaijuu." He stuck his tongue out at her.

"WHAT?" she bellowed getting up and stomping her way towards him, "One: I am NOT rusty. Two: I'M NOT A KAIJUU!"

"Prove it, kaijuu!"

"ARGH!"

Ying Fa herself had started engaging in martial arts when she was young. She begged her brother to let her join him and Yukito, but he said that she was too young. One day, while they were taking a break and getting a drink in the kitchen, she had slipped out into the yard where her brother had stupidly left daggers on the grass. In front of the large cherry blossom was a target that their father had made them. She already knew the dangers of the dagger, but she lightly ran two fingers over the edge of the dagger and stopped at the point. She giggled and then looked over at the target.

"_I'm going to show onii-chan I can do it too!" _

By the time Touya had returned to the yard, he had seen his kid sister with the dagger.

"_Sakura, drop that NOW!"_

"_No!"_

Yukito, Yue, and Cerberus had followed behind Touya, in time to see her throw dagger…

…and hit the bull's eye…

Since then, she was training with them ever since.

"JUST WAIT TILL I GET THIS SWORD IN YOU!"

**---------------------------------------------------------------------------**

Xiao Lang was growing bored of waiting for his current opponent to step out of the shadows and face him. He or she still didn't bother to start the bomb and it was already getting on his nerves. He picked up his sword and examined it. Currently, he was sitting on the thin railing of his balcony, waiting in the shadows as his opponent was. He stared at his sword which reflected the orange sky that was swirling with the night clouds. It was slightly darker along the sides and the tip, which was where the stains of his previous opponents' blood was. He frowned at his job of cleaning it before, which he usually did after each battle. That was when decided to clean it more thoroughly out of boredom, even though that the chances were great that it would be stained again pretty soon.

With a sudden movement, there would be an equal chance of falling down the side where one could land on some garden tools, or land on the floor of his balcony. Now that was for someone who wasn't Xiao Lang, but because this was the leader himself, he lifted himself up into a handstand and walked along the railing with ease. He went back a bit, and did a cartwheel, but surprisingly, his foot slipped, causing him to tilt to direction where the garden tools awaited him. With his reflex, he quickly managed to grab the railing again and flipped himself over and landed with a small thud onto the balcony tiles.

"Damn, I should work on my balance…"

With that, he walked back into his room with his arm bent over his shoulder, holding his sword where it bounced on his back with each step.

By the time he was in front of the kitchen, he heard loud bickering coming from the dojo. He knew that the girl's older brother often trained there since he fully recovered…

But perhaps he found a sparring partner?

…Nah, it couldn't be.

Could it, now?"

He stood on the opposite wall of the entrance to the dojo, where he knew his shadow wouldn't be seen from the inside. It wasn't going to be probable that he'd be seen, since he watched two figures fight and move along the length of the dojo. Well, it looked more like one person was fighting a dummy that kept moving back.

Quite loud too…

"YOU BAKA…IMBECILE…HOW COULD YOU…ARGH! WHY DON'T YOU JUST GET STABBED ALREADY?"

Oh gosh, it really was possible.

The other person laughed, which he recognized as Touya's, "I told you, you were rusty, _kaijuu_, but you didn't believe me!"

"I'M NOT A KAIJUU!"

He was able to hear her weapon, a sword, sing with each of her movements. He opened the door slightly, which was quiet enough for not interrupting her sparing spree.

Indeed, it was her who was actually using a sword and throwing blow after blow at her own family, with such words in between each strike…

"YOU SONOFA…I SAID THAT I'M NOT A KAIJUU! WHY DO YOU KEEP ON SAYING THAT, HUH? OR EVEN PLACE YOUR COFFEE ON MY HEAD! I GREW ONII-CHAN, I GREWWWWWWWWW!"

"Apparently not tall enough to demote yourself from being my mug holder." He laughed, dodging each of her blows as if it was a routine. He had to admit though; she was pretty good with her power that was being drawn from her annoyance with her brother. "Oh, and kaijuu, you do know that we have a visitor, right?"

"Huh?" she quickly stopped her blows and looked towards the door where she saw Xiao Lang, who coughed at her. She blushed and went back to replace the sword.

"I didn't know you could fight." He admitted, but he said it with amazement instead of venom, which was weird. He ignored the cold glare from her brother.

She blushed, "Blame my brother." She stuck her tongue out at him and he just imitated her. Just as she was about to place the sword back, another sword, this time familiar, stood its place in the marble that was next to his arm. She bit back a groan, for it was the second time nearly getting struck by a stupid sword. She turned around and placed her hands on her hips, raising her eyebrow at the owner of the sword.

"Fight me."

"I beg your pardon?" she inquired.

"You got your pardon, now let's fight." He got into a battle stance. Touya remained silent and stepped back to lean on one of the walls with his arms crossed and a foot resting on the wall. He blinked as his sister accepted and began to walk back to the centre.

This time, it was going to be fist to fist combat.

Her breathing was reduced to a slight pant and she was already drenched in sweat as his brother was, but it wasn't going to bother her.

They bowed, and it was on.

Ying Fa crouched down to sweep him off his feet, but he jumped in time and was going to aim a kick to her head. She flipped backwards, but didn't land on her feet. Instead, she launched herself from her handstand and aimed to kick him.

She fooled him.

She knew he was going to duck, so she took that advantage to land behind him and do a roundhouse kick.

He growled and punched her quickly in the stomach, and she stumbled back crying out in pain. He took the time to position himself to another battle stance. She panted a bit, before positioning herself into her own stance. He threw some light, swift punches at her, testing her, to see how her agility was. So he underestimated her, but she still managed to get one of his light punches across her face.

She wiped the corner of mouth with the back of her hand and Xiao Lang had positioned himself in a different stance. She did the same and glared. They circled each other, not leaving their eyes off of each other for even half a second.

"You're pretty good, you know that?" he actually admitted it, but he blushed as if he told a secret that he was holding for too long.

"Gee, thanks." She took it as a sarcastic comment from him. Her eyes widened at his expression.

There it was again, when his eyes looked like slits and his demeanor changing to a serious one, causing the atmosphere around them change and making her hands stand on end. Touya must've felt it too, because he shifted uncomfortably.

She knew she heard something; it was just too hushed to distinguish what it was. She closed her eyes concentrated, since both of them had dropped the gazes on each and looked around expectedly. He wouldn't attack her in such a state.

There it was again. It was still too quiet, but she heard it.

It was a rustle of leaves coming from outside. It was too much rustling to actually be the wind, and really, the breeze that day was too light to make the leaves sing.

Xiao Lang had heard it first, quickly followed by Touya, and then Ying Fa to her disappointment.

"At least this kept me out of boredom," he stretched and yawned, then quickly faced the courtyard, "Looks like I've got some real challengers tonight." He smirked at her scowl.

**---------------------------------------------------------------------------**

"Onii-chan, tell me when you go to the dojo, okay?" Ying Fa asked as she sat on his bed. The battle was still going on, and Ying Fa didn't want to be kidnapped again, so she decided to stay with her brother for a bit, just until she felt safe to stay in her room.

"Why? I got enough practice from dodging your attempt to stab me," he snickered as he folded his shirt and placed it on the dresser. A vein popped in her temple and her fist and her expression turned sour, but didn't say anything more.

"I want to get beat the crap out of that stupid so called leader!" she exclaimed, falling back onto his bed and staring up at the ceiling, "Besides, there's nothing else to do around here anyway." He nodded in understanding and lay beside her with his hands behind his head.

"How long do you think we'll be here?" she asked sadly. He looked at her before sighing.

"I don't know." He said honestly, "He said he'd let us leave if we found Mei Ling, right?" She nodded, sniffling a few tears back and let out a small yelp of surprise as he patted her head lightly.

"Don't worry, she's fine."

**---------------------------------------------------------------------------**

The battle lasted longer than Xiao Lang expected, but he was right. His opponent, a woman for once, really had used the bomb she implanted earlier when they're combat caused them to move everywhere. Much to her surprise, he had already diffused the bomb earlier, leaving an advantage out in the open.

He sighed heavily and ran his hand through his messy hair with sweat glistening, falling onto the ground. He really wasn't in the mood to go to the front, since the backdoors were locked quickly when there was a challenger. He looked up, finding the nearest balcony to be Ying Fa's.

He shrugged and easily leapt high enough to grab the railing. He flipped himself over as he done earlier and landed quietly in front of the large windows. He took a dagger from his belt and slid in the crack of the door, and it calmly clicked open, allowing him to enter. He was expecting her to be asleep, since it was so late and the lights in her room were off.

He was wrong.

It nearly startled him to her sitting cross-legged on her bed, looking at him intently.

"Sorry," he murmured.

"No, wait!" she hissed quietly as he was about to leave the room. He paused in his step, but didn't look at her, "I want to know how you like, umm…sense things so easily…" she heard him huff softly.

"I didn't learn it in just one night, you know," he said, stating the obvious.

"I know that much, I'm not stupid," she rolled her eyes at his back and hastily added before he could remark, "Just tell me the basics, I can do the rest. Please?"

Silence overcame them and she gnawed her bottom lip.

"Fine."

She couldn't help but let her smile shine in the moonlight.

He turned around and faced her, "What are you smiling at? Go over there by the window." She nodded and muttered under breath. Xiao Lang followed after and stood behind her from a distance.

"What do you see?"

"It's too dark…" she murmured blinking against the moonlight. When he didn't say anything, she sighed, "I see a dark sky, a bright moon, stars, and faint silhouettes of the trees, flowers, and shrubs. Happy, sensei?" she rolled her eyes and looked at him.

"That's funny, because I can see the moon too," he smiled, which caused her to blush. Ah, but the smile wasn't real, how mean…His smile disappeared quickly and formed a scowl,"You idiot, the moon is above the house, and you can't see it from your view." She winced and groaned. She only assumed that there was a moon because of the moonlight slipping into her room. He sighed as well, "I can see a bird's nest with birds sleep, a few bugs flying around the yard, and I can tell which flower is which and whether the shrub has thorns or not." He had advanced towards her and was now standing right beside her, holding the curtain in one hand and the other hand on the glass.

Ying Fa groaned, "How the heck do you do that? Are you even telling the truth?"

"I don't lie," was his stiff response. Ying Fa remembered what Yelan had told her before, _"...he rarely lies..."_

"Fine, sure," she shrugged it off and placed her hand on the glass, "then tell me how you knew that." She heard him huff again and stare at her for the longest time. Everything was pretty silent, and it was only the clock that was ticking away loudly in the room.

"Fine," he snapped, "Close your eyes. Concentrate. Feel their aura. Remember—"

"Whoa, geez!" Ying Fa had only gotten as far as closing her eyes, which she snapped open, and to the concentrating part. "Elaborate please, why don't you?"

"Fine, FINE," he snapped again, "The yard is too far for you…" he muttered to himself something like, "stupid girl," and then he looked thoughtful, looking around the unlitted room. They didn't even bother to turn on the lights. "Close your eyes and concentrate again on something _small_." Ying Fa exhaled and then closed her eyes again, trying to concentrate on the clock on her room.

"This ain't working, there's no difference!" she whined impatiently, "I'm doing something wrong, aren't I?"

Tweet, tweet.

"HOEE!" Ying Fa snapped her eyes open and jumped in surprise. In front of her face, was a little cardinal, with its wings and body a yellow-brown with a dusty red tinge. It tweeted again and tilted its head at her.

Tweet?

"Aww, how cute…" she cooed, and squealed when it fly on her shoulder.

"I see Su already likes you," Xiao Lang raised an eyebrow at his bird, "She won't bite."

"I know." She giggled as Su stretched her wings, tickling Ying Fa's neck. She placed her finger in front of her shoulder, and the little bird hopped onto her finger. "Mei Ling told me she used to have a cardinal, too. A red one, I think." She said solemnly.

"Not used to," Xiao Lang spoke up, causing her to instantly look at him. He turned around so his back was to her, and was a sudden tweet, that wasn't coming from Su. On the back of his neck, was another cardinal, this time a ruby red. "This is her bird, Yung." Yung tweeted quietly and gripped tighter onto his shirt.

"How cute…" Ying Fa said happily, gently lifting Yung off Xiao Lang's shirt. She now had Su on her shoulder and Yung in hand. "Why'd you bring them here?"

"It would be easier if you started with something alive and moving," he said simply. He clicked his tongue, and both birds and flown back to his hands, "You know how they feel, how they sound like, and look like." They tweeted in his hands.

"Yeah, so?" she shrugged.

"But do you know their auras?" Xiao Lang asked rhetorically, "Close your eyes, and they'll hide somewhere in the room. You find them."

"Okay, okay," Ying Fa sighed and closed her eyes.

"Now," he said after a second, "sense them and—geez, all I said was to sense them, can't you understand instructions? Don't open your eyes!" She huffed and concentrated, snapping her eyes shut again.

"Anything?" he asked dryly.

"Shut up, this isn't easy!" She whined, trying not to glare at him.

"Geez, don't sense BOTH of them, woman! That's too much!" he barked impatiently, "I don't even know why I bother…"

She stayed quiet, but concentrated. 'Yung is nervous…so I should feel something…tense?' she concentrated hard enough and opened her eyes. "Geez, man, turn around." Xiao Lang did what he was told and sure enough, there was Yung who tweeted nervously at his sudden movement. She couldn't help but grin, "I DID IT! I SENSED WHERE YUNG WAS! I ACTUALLY DID –"

"Oh, please," he said loudly, rolling his eyes, "Then where's Su?"

She wasn't lucky as she was the first time, since Yung was hiding in the shadows of the bookshelf.

"Start off close and gradually work your way farther. Work hard, and let those that are far even closer." Xiao Lang had said to her at her doorway, his back facing her. He said it was what his old martial arts instructor had told him not long during one of his lessons. He walked away stiffly, not before asking, "How long have you been training?"

She looked thoughtful, "Since I was able to walk."

**---------------------------------------------------------------------------

* * *

**

**Author's Note: And there you go. They're going to become closer next chapter or the one after that...Sorry if it's a bit confusing, though!**

**Tell me what you thought! **

**-AngeL **


	5. IMPORTANT NOTE

Feb 16, 2007.

I've been reading my stories over and over again to see if I can improve anywhere and edit it. I've found that I really need to rewrite practically every story because the way I planned out the story was really umm, unprofessional in a way that the story would just come out just horribly. I really am sorry for those who have been waiting for so long just so I can update on my fanfics, but really, I can't continue them when they have so many mistakes that need to be desperately corrected. I've figured that I'd post my ideas as soon as I get them on my Livejournal, which I just got today. If anyone isn't that angry/frustrated at me, they're free to add me...as long as they tell me who they are, lol. I think I'll keep my stories up just a bit longer, but don't expect updates anytime soon. The only things that I'd be posting are small ideas for potential stories, or small ideas for my current fanfics. If I get enough ideas for any of my fanfics, then I can probably string them together to make a story. This is my last author's note, I swear, any other notes will be posted yet again, on my LJ.

-AngeL 


End file.
